BRCWRT — Vol . XV, Issue 1 — February 2008 Page 1

The Newsletter of the Bull Run Civil War Round Table — Vol. XV, Issue 1—February 2008

DAN PATERSON GREAT-GRANDSON OF

LT. GEN. JAMES LONGSTREET PRE-

SENTS THE HISTORY OF HIS FAMILY

By John McAnaw

Our guest speaker is well known to members of the BRCWRT. Dan is a Past President of our organiza-tion. He has distinguished himself by his noteworthy efforts regarding the preservation of our Civil War heri-tage. Permit me to list some examples of his involve-ment and the recognition received for his efforts:

Board member of the Longstreet Society, Gainesville, GA;

Board member of the Pickett Society, Richmond, VA;

Member of the Friends of the Gettysburg Battlefield and the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield (participated in clean-up projects at Gettysburg);

Member of Longstreet Camp 124, Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), Richmond, VA;

Member of two reenactment units;

Recipient of the Jefferson Davis Award, presented by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to individuals ac-tive in efforts to preserve Confederate heritage;

Recipient of the 2001 Helen Dortch Longstreet Award given by the Longstreet Society to those who strive to defend and preserve the reputation of Lt. Gen. Longstreet.

Furthermore, Dan has had more than two dozen speaking engagements with such organizations as Round Tables, SCV Camps, and academic institutions. He also was the keynote speaker at a number of Confederate memorial services and two Longstreet monument dedi-cations at Gainesville, GA and Edgefield, SC.

Dan received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland in 1981. He is presently a Net-work Engineer (Information Systems) with Long and Foster Realtors, Fairfax, VA. He and his wife Sherry and son Shane live in Centreville.

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

14 FEBRUARY 2008

7:00 P.M. Centreville Library

GUEST SPEAKER:

Dan Paterson, Great-Grandson of

Gen. James Longstreet

SUBJECT:

A Longstreet Pictorial History

The following is how Dan describes the PowerPoint presentation that he will give to BRCWRT members on 14 February 2008:

“A Longstreet Pictorial History” is a comprehensive visual history in PowerPoint of the Longstreet family starting with the general’s great-grandfather, Gen. John Dent, of the American Revolution, and continuing with the inven-tor, William Longstreet, the scholar, Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, including Civil War wartime photos/prints, various battle anniversary photos, and concludes with photos of the monument project ceremonies of the last several years. The presentation also includes family photographs, newspaper clippings and even pictures from the General’s personal photo album spanning two centuries and several wars.

In August 2007, I attended the cited presenta-tion at the Fairfax Station Railroad Museum. It is very good. Do not miss this opportunity to learn more about the Longstreets.

DON’T FORGET TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP FOR 2008!

BRCWRT — Vol . XV, Issue 1 — February 2008 Page 2

SUBMISSION DEADLINE For the March 2008 Issue

E-mail Articles By 9:00 A.M. Monday, March 3

To scox@capitalav.com

If you do not receive an acknowledgment of your e-mail article by deadline, please call Saundra at 703.675.0702 (cell) or 540.752.9500 (Capital AV) as it may have been blocked by company software.

BULL RUN CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE Executive Committee

President: John McAnaw— [703.978.3371] Immediate Past President: Keith Young RKeith_Young@compuserve.com Vice-President: John De Pue—jfdepue@comcast.net Treasurer: Mark Knowles [703.787.9811] Secretary: Dale Maschino [703.734.3244] or smasch1@verizon.net At Large: Ed Wenzel, Charlie Balch and John Pearson Field Trips: Kevin Anastas, KKA2@cox.net Webmaster: Ken Jones KJones111@cox.net Newsletter Editor: Saundra Cox scox@capitalav.com [703.675.0702] Newsletter Team: Nancy Anwyll, Dale Maschino, Ed Wenzel, Ken Jones, Andy Kapfer and Janet Greentree The Bull Run Civil War Round Table publishes the Stone Wall. General Membership meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month at:

The Centreville Regional Library 14200 St. Germain Drive

Centreville, VA 20121-2299 703.830.2223

For specific meeting dates and information, please visit the WEBSITE:

http://bullruncwrt.org

INCLEMENT WEATHER SOP If adverse weather conditions exist or are imminent, and you wish to determine if the meeting will be held, call the Centreville Regional Library (703.830.2223) or Presi-dent John McAnaw (703.978.3371).

Lee & Sedgwick Page 4

Booth Escape Route Tour Page 4

Events Page 5

Lee in Texas Page 6

The Book Corner Page 7

Ox Hill Update & Tour Page 8

Soldier’s Letter About Ox Hill Page 9

CW Travels with Ms. Rebelle Page 10

In This Issue

UPCOMING MEETING 13 MARCH 2008

7:00 PM GUEST SPEAKER: Brian R. McEnany

TOPIC:

THE FEDERAL INVASION OF FLORIDA: THE BATTLE OF OLUSTEE , 20 FEBRUARY

1864

NOTE: This meeting will be held in Room 101 of the new City of Fairfax Regional Library, 10360 North St. Phone 703-293-6227 (more infor-mation coming)

JOIN US AT THE RED ROCK CANYON GRILL

Do you come directly to the monthly meeting from work and look for a place to eat, or would you just like to come early for dinner? Join the BRCWRT board and our monthly guest speaker for good food and camaraderie.

We are currently meeting at 5:15 p.m. just across Lee Highway from the library. Space is limited so RSVP to Dale Maschino at smasch1@verizon.net or 703.734.3244 no later than Tuesday before each meeting.

Of course, it’s always Dutch treat for the ‘cheap and the proud’! Bring cash to get us out quickly.

NEW RESTAURANT LOCATION

ROUND TABLE BOOK SALES Please remember to bring your used Civil War books to our meetings to aid in our ongoing book sales. Besides helping to raise money for the BRCWRT, these books help raise our members’ understanding of the Civil War. Thank You.

BRCWRT — Vol . XV, Issue 1 — February 2008 Page 3

The President’s Column By John P. McAnaw

This is our first newsletter of CY 2008. Thus, before continuing, I request that you review the composition of the BRCWRT Executive Commit-tee on page two. Note that John Pearson, along with prior year members Ed Wenzel and Charlie Balch now comprise the At-Large Members for this year. Our monthly meeting on 13 December 2007 and 10 January 2008 were well attended. For the record, a total of 67 members and guests listened to Ron Beavers’ comprehensive presentation on Civil War Logistics following our Christmas party in December. In January, 77 individuals attended

E.B. Vandiver’s eye-opening talk on the James River Defenses. The sophistication of the Confed-erate defenses was very impressive. I extend my thanks to both for their very enlightening presen-tations. The CY 2008 Campaign Season will begin on Saturday, 23 February 2008 when Ed Wenzel will head a BRCWRT tour of the Ox Hill Battlefield, commencing at 10:00 A.M. Meet on the sidewalk at the Monument Drive entrance. It is located in the southwest quadrant of the intersection of West Ox Road and Monument Drive. I believe every at-tendee will be pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the to-be-installed interpretive signs for this important battle. They are very good. On Saturday, 15 March 2008, Peter MacNeill will lead the bus tour of John Wilkes Booth’s escape route following the assassination of President Lincoln. We will assemble at 7:45 A.M. at the bus stop shelter just outside the Vienna Metro Station (on the Fairfax/George Mason Uni-versity side). This all-day tour will begin at 8:00 A.M. As a reminder, the tour cost will be $38.00

WELCOME

NEW

MEMBERS

Gerald Horna Sonja Hurlbutt Patrick McGinty

Michael Patterson John Pauly

Sean Stapleton Robert Webb

per person. Other tours will be scheduled for the first half of CY 2008, including the Wilderness Bat-tlefield of 5-7 May 1864. Kevin Anastas will lead this tour on 10 May—two days after Ed Bearss speaks to our Round Table. This year we will continue to be proactive in the preservation of endangered Civil War sites near Bristoe Station, Centreville, the Manassas Battle-fields, and Brandy Station to name a few. Of great importance is the upcoming Prince William County Planning Commission meeting on 19 March 2008 which will address the proposed development of much of the Bristoe Station Battlefield south of the Norfolk-Southern RR tracks east of Route 619. We need more members to sign up and speak (maximum of three minutes) against this unwise proposal. Please note that with the exception of the monthly meeting on 13 March 2008 at the City of Fairfax Regional Library, all other monthly meet-ings of the BRCWRT during CY 2008 will be held at the Centreville Regional Library. In closing, I request all members to expedi-tiously pay their modest dues for CY 2008. Dues payments are the lifeblood of our organization. Another welcome source of revenue is the money received from book sales at our monthly meetings. Thus, book donations will be most welcome. I thank all members who, in the past, have donated books to our Round Table. See you on 14 February!

Speakers Ronald L. Beavers and E. B. Vandiver, III. Photos by Janet Greentree

BRCWRT — Vol . XV, Issue 1 — February 2008 Page 4

GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE, GENERAL JOHN SEDGWICK

AND ‘CERTAIN YOUNG LADIES’ By Michael Block

The Brandy Station Foundation (BSF) has in its’ col-lection two dresses from the Civil War era. One of them is on display on the second floor of the Graffiti House. The other is in the process of being conserved and pre-pared for display at some point in the future. That par-ticular dress has been documented as being in Culpeper during the Civil War, and may have been a witness to the following event, which took place in the fall of 1863.

On September 21, 1863, the Army of the Potomac responding to the departure of General James Longstreet’s First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia to Tennessee, moved into and occupied Culpeper County. This moved the theater of war from the Rappahannock River south to the Rapidan River.

The forces opposed each other for a quiet month un-til the start of what would become the Bristoe Campaign. During this brief period of inactivity, General John Sedg-wick used the Sterns house, better known today as “Farley” as headquarters for his Sixth Corps. He would use the same residence during the winter encampment.

The following incident took place on October 11, 1863 as General Lee entered Culpeper and his Army ad-vanced back into the county. The story originally was recorded in Armistead L. Long’s, Memoirs of Robert E. Lee, published in 1886 and has been repeated in some form in other books:

“Lee, while encamped at Culpeper, was of course cordially received by the people of the town. One of these, a lady who had been somewhat scandalized by the friendly relations between some of her neighbors and the Yankees, took occasion to complain to the gen-eral that certain young ladies, then present, had been in the habit of visiting General Sedgwick at his headquar-ters, which was pitched in the ample grounds of a citizen whose house he declined to use.

“The young ladies were troubled, for the general looked very grave. But they were soon relieved when he said, ‘I know General Sedgwick very well. It is just like him to be so kindly and considerate, and to have his band there to entertain them. –So, young ladies, if the music is good, go and hear it as often as you can, and enjoy yourselves. You will find that General Sedgwick will have none but agreeable gentlemen about him.’”

History does not record the reaction of the scandal-ized lady.

It is not known if the dress in the BSF collection was in the presence of General Lee, or if it was sitting or pic-nicking on the grounds of Farley, listening to the enter-taining tunes from a Sixth Corps band…but you never know!

BRCWRT TOUR

THE ESCAPE ROUTE OF PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSIN JOHN WILKES BOOTH —

WASHINGTON D.C., MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA

DATE: Saturday 15 March 2008

INVITED PARTICIPANTS: Round Table members, their families and invited guests

TOUR GUIDE: Peter MacNeill

ASSEMBLY TIME: 7:45 A.M.

ASSEMBLY LOCATION: Vienna Metro Station near the bus stop outside of the entrance on the Fairfax/George Mason University side [South of I-66).

LAST STOP OF TOUR: Vienna Metro Station at load-ing location.

TOUR LENGTH: 8:00 A.M. to 6:30 P.M.

CONVEYANCE: 47-passenger tour bus equipped with a restroom.

TICKET COST: Adults - $38.00; Children 16 and un-der - $20. This includes admission to the Surratt House Museum in Clinton, MD and the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd Home Museum in Waldorf MD. Ticket price does not include cost of lunch.

SIGN UP INSTRUCTIONS: First come, first served in the order payment is received. Send check covering tour cost payable to BRCWRT at

Mark Knowles, BRCWRT Treas. 169 Applegate Dr. Sterling VA 20164

DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF CHECKS: WEDNESDAY, 20 FEBRUARY 2008

MORE INFORMATION: Contact John McAnaw at 703 978-3371. More information is available on our web site http://bullruncwrt.org.

BRCWRT — Vol . XV, Issue 1 — February 2008 Page 5

House in Atoka (off Route 50 west of Middleburg). $5 for Adults. Call 540-687-6681 or www.mosbyheritagearea.org.

8 Mar – Living history, “Manassas’s Own Artillery”, Un-ion and Confederate. At the Manassas National Battle-field. Free with park admission. Call 703-361-1339, or link to www.nps.gov/mana.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

By Dale Maschino

Note: If you plan to attend an event, please verify the information given. Advance reservation and fee may apply. If you would like an event posted please e-mail Dale Maschino at smasch1@verizon.net.

9 Feb – Living history, “Fireside Mosby,” Civil War sto-ries at the Rector House in Atoka (off Route 50, west of Middleburg). $5 adult. Call 540-687-6681, or link to www.mosbyheritagearea.org.

9 Feb – “Aboard a Man-of-War,” at the USS Constella-tion in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Noon. Free with ad-mission. Call 410-539-1797, or link to www.constellation.org. 10 Feb – Montpelier, walking tour of the Confederate campsite and Freedman’s Farm, the home of President James Madison near Orange. 2 pm. Free with admis-sion. Call 540-672-9272 or, link to www.montpelier.org.

10 Feb – Richmond, special program “Liberty’s Father – George Washington and the American Civil War” (1pm) and “Liberty’s Son – the Presidential legacy of Abraham Lincoln” (3 pm). American Civil War Center at historic Tredegar in Richmond. Free with admission. Call 804-780-1865 or link to www.tredegar.org.

12 Feb – “Lincoln Day Celebration” at the Lincoln Home-stead Cemetery, 6 miles north of Harrisonburg on Route 42. Speaker. Lincoln’s father was born near the site of the event and five generations of Lincolns are buried in the cemetery. 2 pm. Free. For info call 540-828-5620.

16 Feb – Woodbridge, “The Underground Railroad Net-work to Freedom,” a special program at Leesylvania State Park. Historians and displays highlight escapees and spies in the area. 11 am – 4 pm. Parking Fee. For information call 703-583-6904.

23 Feb – Symposium, “Jefferson Davis: A Man in Full,” sponsored by the Museum of the Confederacy and the Library of Virginia in Richmond. $45. For details and registration, call 804-6491861 ext. 21 or link to www.moc.org.

24 Feb – Lecture and book signing, “Desperate Engage-ment – Jubal Early’s Threat on Washington” at the Ma-nassas Museum. 2 pm. Free with admission. Call 703-368-1873, or www.manassasmuseum.org.

1 Mar – Seminar, “Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lin-coln,” noted historians discuss the two leaders at Long-wood University in Farmville (Hull Building Room 132). Begins at 9 am. Free. For information call 434-352-8987 or www.nps.gov/apco.

2 Mar – Lecture, unsung heroes of the Civil War Era; African-Americans of the Mosby Heritage Area, at the Goose Creek Meeting House in Lincoln. 4 pm. Free. Call 540-687-6681 or www.mosbyheritagearea.org.

8 Mar – “Fireside Mosby,” Civil War stories at the Rector

KEITH YOUNG TO SPEAK AT FAIRFAX STATION RAILROAD MUSEUM QUARTERLY FORUM

FEBRUARY 13 Forum speaker Keith Young, a local historian, preservationist, author and BRCWRT member, will cover the state of medicine during the Civil War and provide a look at the medical practices used by both sides during the war. People generally think of Civil War medicine as patients biting the bullet and doctors whacking off arms and legs. Viewed by the standards 150 years ago, the doctors treating the sick were some of the best trained physicians of their time. This presentation will discuss these standards. The Fairfax Station Railroad Museum is at 11200 Fairfax Station Road, in Fairfax Station. Free, but donations appreci-ated. For information, call 703-978-6820.

“THESE HONORED DEAD”

The National Archives has a ‘From the Re-cords’ Book Group. At each meeting, a book is dis-cussed. On March 18, the book is "These Honored Dead: How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped American Memory" by Thomas A. Desjardin. This is not an au-thor's lecture and the author is not present.

The meeting will be held at noon on Tuesday, March 18 in Room G-24 of the National Archives Build-ing. Enter on the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the building. The book will be available in advance at the Archives Shop with a special discount for book group participants. Those interested are advised to call the shop before going there to see if the book has arrived yet. The number of the shop is 202-357-5271.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH PRESENTATION

Anatomy of a Slave Dwelling - In honor of Black His-tory Month, Dennis J. Pogue, PhD, from historic Mount Vernon, will discuss Slave quarters of the 18th and 19 th Century in Northern Virginia. Dr. Pogue will present a PowerPoint presentation on 21 February focusing on architectural features of existing slave dwellings in the Northern Virginia Region. 7:00 PM at the Old Manas-sas Courthouse, 9248 Lee Avenue, Manassas 20110. Hosted by the PWC Historical Preservation Division.

BRCWRT — Vol . XV, Issue 1 — February 2008 Page 6

ROBERT E. LEE IN TEXAS

By Tim Duskin

When the War with Mexico began in 1846, Captain Robert E. Lee, who was serving with the Engineers, was ordered to Texas to join the division of Brigadier General John E. Wool in San Antonio de Bexar, as it was then called. Lee left Arlington and traveled by steamer for Texas. He arrived there at Port la Vaco and then traveled by horseback to San Antonio. The Alamo, which is in San Antonio, had been the site of the famous battle of the Texas War for Independence only ten years before. Its two surviving structures, the Alamo Chapel and the Long Barrack, were being used as a U.S. army quartermaster depot when Lee arrived in the city. In 1834, when Lee had been at Fort Monroe, Wool had come there for an inspection of the engineering work and had been rowed out to Fort Calhoun with then Lieu-tenant Lee.

Lee marched south with Wool’s division to join Major General Zachary Taylor’s army in Mexico. In early 1847, Lee was reassigned to the army of Major General Winfield Scott. Lee returned to Texas on horseback where he joined his new command at Brazos, and then went south again to Mexico with it, where he saw his first combat experience in his 22 years in the army. He also had a tour of duty in Texas from 1855 to 1857 where he was stationed at Camp Cooper and helped to protect settlers from attacks by the Apache and Coman-che Indians. Lee spent some more time in San Antonio during these years.

After the execution of John Brown in 1859, now Colo-nel Lee was to return to San Antonio in February, 1860, after having been given temporary command of the De-partment of Texas. He landed by steamer at Indianola and went once again to San Antonio, which was the de-partment headquarters. He spent fourteen months in Texas dealing with Indian raids and with bandits and desperados who crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico.

During this year, secessionist sentiment showed itself in the South, including Texas. Lee opposed secession and hoped that Virginia would attempt to oppose it and avert civil war, but he also believed that his first duty was to Virginia, and that if she seceded, he would offer her his services. Lee was to do so when his native state seceded, but before that time he was a staunch Unionist.

In December, command of the department was given to Brigadier General David E. Twiggs, who was a Geor-gian and a strong states rights man. Lee and Twiggs had served together in Mexico. Lee was given command of Fort Mason. Lee was at Fort Mason when South Caro-lina seceded later that month. When Washington con-templated this situation, an order was issued by the War Department in January relieving Twiggs of command of the department and replacing him with Colonel Carlos E. Waite, the next senior in the department, who was a New Yorker and a strong Unionist. However, the order did not arrive in time to be executed. Before the order

arrived, Texas seceded from the Union and a force of Texas secessionist troops under Colonel Ben McCulloch surrounded the Alamo, which was still being used by the Quartermaster Department as a supply depot. Twiggs surrendered the whole department, consisting of nine-teen army posts, including over one million dollars worth of property, and 2,328 men, without firing a shot.

Lee arrived back in San Antonio later in the day, af-ter all this had happened, and observed, “Has it come as soon as this?” Appalled at what Twiggs had done, Lee changed into civilian clothes and went to headquarters, where he found the secessionists in control. They urged him to resign his commission and join them and he was told that if he did not, he would not be allowed transpor-tation for his luggage. Lee checked in at the Menger Hotel, having no barracks in which to stay, and en-trusted his belongings to Charles Anderson, a fellow offi-cer and, at that time, a fellow Unionist. Charles Ander-son was the brother of Major Robert Anderson, who was soon to command the Union garrison at Fort Sumter. Lee returned to Virginia by way of Indianola, Texas. Before he left the state, the Confederacy was formed. Twiggs did not need to resign from the army. He was dismissed. He later became a Major General in the Con-federate army. McCulloch became a Brigadier General in the Confederate army, having previously served in both the Texas War for Independence and the Mexican War.

In his book The Coming Fury, Bruce Catton wrote:

“A few months earlier…Lee had been commander of the Department of Texas. If the secession crisis had come to a head then, or if Twiggs’s return had been de-layed past mid-winter, it would have been Lee and not Twiggs on whom the Texas commissioners would have made their demand for the surrender of Government property. Without any question, Lee would have given them a flat refusal – in which case it might easily have been Lee, and not Major Robert Anderson, who first re-ceived and returned the fire of the secessionists, with San Antonio, rather than Fort Sumter, as the scene of the fight that began a great war. Subsequent history could have been substantially different.”

This would have been the first shot of the war and with Lee, a Virginian, in command of the Union forces, it is likely that the Upper South would have remained in the Union. The Alamo would have been the scene of a battle once more, the opening one of the Civil War.

Lee’s baggage was shipped to Virginia by way of New York. By the time it arrived in New York, however, Vir-ginia had seceded and Lee’s baggage was seized, so he never received it. Lee was never to return to Texas again, but many Texas troops served under his com-mand in the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War.

The Alamo was used as a Confederate army supply depot during the war and was returned to being a U.S.

See LEE IN TEXAS, Page 11

BRCWRT — Vol . XV, Issue 1 — February 2008 Page 7

THE BOOK CORNER By Ralph Swanson

Now that the guns have fallen silent over the battle-fields of 2nd Chancellorsville and Generals Tricord and Toll have retreated from Dogwood Ridge, it is time to return to the first battle to contest that bloody ground.

Chancellorsville: arguably the best planned, best fought battle of the Civil War--both Union and Confederate --is studied even today by military officers. It was the epitome of Union offensive strategy and execution and a nearly perfect Confederate defensive action. A day tramping this hallowed battlefield will carry you away to that other era. And Chancel-lorsville (Mariner Books) by Steven W. Sears is the battle his-tory you need to understand it all. When you feel the heft of Chancellorsville, you will know you are in for some serious scholarship, and hours of enjoyable reading.

Yet the battle itself, and its proper place in our Civil War, remains an enigma. For all its elegant precision and inele-gant carnage, Chancellorsville accomplished virtually nothing militarily. Can it rightfully be called an important battle? Like many, this one yields much fruit for our discussion (i.e., argu-ment) of strategies, tactics and the vagaries of war over which mere Generals have no control. Sears covers it all in exhaus-tive detail.

Unfortunately even Sears offers no definite answer to that one big question: After planning and executing so flaw-lessly, and with so much in his favor–surprise, troop strength, intelligence, artillery--why did Hooker fail? Read Chancellors-ville with that question constantly in front of your mind.

Any analysis of the Battle of Chancellorsville must be-gin with General Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker (Lee derided him as “Mr. F.J. Hooker”). Sears’s treatment of Hooker is thorough and ultimately complementary. Hooker was no political gen-eral. He was a skilled officer, a thorough planner and an imaginative strategist, probably surpassing Grant. In less than three months in early 1863, Hooker transformed a defeated Army of the Potomac, restoring morale, virtually eliminating desertions, and refilling depleted ranks–lessons here for any officer in today’s army. His topographic engineers mapped every main road and minor byway in the vicinity of the forth-coming battle. Consolidation of Union cavalry into a single Corps under Stoneman is widely regarded as the key to all fu-ture success of that arm. Hooker established redundant com-munications systems and the first effective military intelligence unit, one that yielded him consistently accurate information on Confederate troop strengths and dispositions. (Pinkerton had left the army with McClellan.)

His battle strategy was simple: circle around behind Lee, who was camped on Marye’s Heights opposite Fredericks-burg, and hit him in the rear. Hooker’s superior numbers would crush the Army of Northern Virginia in open field battle or force a Confederate retreat southward. Sears’s chronology of events is detailed, relying on many primary sources, either previously unavailable or unused, ranging from Hooker’s own papers to soldier letters and diaries. Unlike so many authors, Sears is thoughtful of his readers’ needs: he is careful with his time lines so that we understand the order of even small events, such as the dispatch or arrival of a given order; his battle maps are plentiful, and informative, showing even minor landmarks mentioned in the text, such as residences, so important in following the movement and posi-tion of troops.

As outstanding as he was in some areas, Hooker did poorly with artillery and staff organization. Ultimately, he mis-used his cavalry and was exceedingly poorly served by subordinates. Did Stoneman completely forget his orders to sweep south and cut the railroad supplying Lee? Did Sedg-wick completely forget his orders to attack and at least hold Lee’s forces at Fredericksburg while Hooker simultaneously attacked from the west? It seems so.

None of this absolves Hooker. Absent both cavalry and an aggressive Sedgwick, he still enjoyed superior troop strength in advantageous positions. Meade’s entire 5th Corps was on Lee’s right flank the entire time, yet hardly saw ac-tion. In fact, Hooker had made all the fateful decisions that cost him the battle well before that artillery shell struck the Chancellor house on May 3. As late as May 4, his command-ers still voted 3-2 for attack, yet Hooker ordered retreat, es-sentially ending the battle.

And what of Lee? Chancellorsville was his master-piece. E.J. Stackpole calls it, not Gettysburg, the Confeder-ate High Tide. Always one step behind, Lee patiently maneu-vered on defense until he could do to Hooker exactly what Hooker had planned to do to him.

In a fascinating appendix titled “The Romances of Chancellorsville” Sears debunks a number of myths about the battle, a key one being a supposed conversation with Doubleday on the way to Gettysburg wherein Hooker admit-ted that he simply ”...lost confidence in Hooker...” at Chan-cellorsville. (Neither General ever hinted at such a conversa-tion in their later published works.) Even if Hooker never said it, can we factor it out of the equation?

Could there have been a psychological barrier Civil War generals, however well schooled, could not overcome? Could it have been a fear of committing so many men to cer-tain death? Or some other romantic view of 19th century war? We saw it in McClellan at Antietam--that fateful hesita-tion when all was ready (“My plans are perfect.”) and victory close at hand.

Upon his arrival on the field on April 30, Hooker promptly took counsel of every fear. Without much more than a bloody nose from McLaws out on the Orange Turnpike on May 1, he abandoned his entire plan, went over to the defensive, and handed the initiative to Lee. Isn’t it at least plausible that Hooker simply lost confidence in his own plans and his own abilities?

Well, we will decide that for ourselves. But not be-fore reading Chancellorsville.

Until next time, keep reading.

LAND PURCHASE NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE

As stated in the Culpeper Star-Exponent on Janu-ary 6, 2008, The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) along with the Brandy Station Foundation (BSF) and other organizations are in the process of negotiating the pur-chase of approximately fifty acres on the Eastern ap-proach to Fleetwood Hill, on the Brandy Station Battlefield. While contract negotiations continue, the Brandy Station Foundation has decided not to publicly discuss the situa-tion until all actions are complete and final. Please watch the CWPT and BSF websites for any press releases.

BRCWRT — Vol . XV, Issue 1 — February 2008 Page 8

biography of General Heintzelman.

Designs for the kiosk panels (each 4 ft. x 6 ft.) now include: #1) “The Park and Interpretive Trail”, a brief introduction with map showing the quarter-mile trail and marker and monument locations; #2) “Where The Battle Was Fought”, a recent aerial photograph of the Fair Oaks Mall area with Union and Confederate troop positions and attack arrows superimposed; #3) “Sequel to Second Manassas”, a short overview of the Ox Hill battle, from the preliminary movements to the aftermath; #4) “The Wounded Left Behind”, the story of wounded Union soldiers left at the Millan House hospital; #5) “Who Fought Here: The Generals”, with photographs and biographical sketches of generals Stevens, Kearny, Lawton and A. P. Hill; and #6), an additional panel with information provided by the Park Authority that will highlight other Civil War sites in Fairfax County and the nearby region.

The biographical panel (#5) was originally planned to highlight not only the four division command-ers, but also eight soldiers—four from each side. How-ever, in laying out the design, it became apparent that twelve photographs and biographical sketches would not fit on a single panel. In addition, the four Union images provided by Fairfax researcher, Joe Stahl, need four Confederate counterparts, and thus far, only one Con-federate (from Hays’ brigade) has been identified. Ac-cordingly, work is progressing on the generals’ panel, but a separate soldiers’ panel will have to come later when three more Confederate photos or carte de visites are located. One soldier is desired from the brigades of Branch, Gregg, and Early. Of course they must be on the muster rolls for Sept. 1st 1862. Anyone knowing the whereabouts of suitable Confederate images that we could use for this panel should contact the writer or the Park Authority.

Also, Mr. McDonough has produced an extra panel, entitled “Wounds Suffered at Ox Hill”, that con-tains dramatic information on the wounds of three iden-tified Union soldiers and two identified Confederate sol-diers. This panel would compliment #4) “The Wounded Left Behind”, dealing with the Millan House hospital. Whether the Park Authority will include this material re-mains to be seen, but the kiosk can accommodate many more panels than are currently planned.

Bottom line, the markers and panels are infor-mative, good looking and first class. The writer acted as liaison and helped with maps, graphics, captions and corrections as the panels were being designed and im-proved. Also, the easement agreement between the Park Authority and the Kearny and Stevens Trustees is at the County Attorney’s office and almost ready for signa-tures. As soon as the document is signed, and the court grants its approval, the county will approve the site -plans and work at the park can begin. Mr. Rierson esti-mates that site work will start at Ox Hill in May, with completion by late summer. For the people of Fairfax, and for Civil War and history minded people everywhere, this is the year! The long wait for a fully interpreted Ox Hill Battlefield Park is almost over! Stay tuned.

PARK BOARD ADDS $267,506 TO OX HILL BATTLEFIELD;

RAIN WATER PROBLEM REDUCED; KIOSK PANELS NEAR COMPLETION;

OFF-SITE MARKERS FUNDED By Ed Wenzel

Glory Hallelujah! Huzzah! The Fairfax County Park Authority Board gave the Ox Hill Battlefield Park a $267,506 Christmas present this year! The Board re-sponded to continued interest (at the highest county level) in getting this long delayed battlefield park com-pleted. Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald Connolly focused everyone’s attention a few months ago with a memo calling for resolution of the site plan problems. Then, Springfield District Park Board Representative, Kenneth Feng, along with park staff, pieced together the funds needed to complete the project.

The park, as readers know, was facing a serious shortfall due to bureaucratic site plan delays, expensive waiver fees and added costs for storm water studies and water quality problems. These problems, and additional costs, had threatened to cut some long planned inter-pretive features and postpone others. Total cost of the park now comes to $692,000. Project Team leader Mi-chael Rierson said the added funds will cover the “rain garden”, site plan revisions, waivers, fees, delays, and six off-site markers.

According to Mr. Rierson, the park staff and site plan reviewers have worked out a solution to the water quality problem. As it happens, Ox Hill lies in the Water-shed Planning Overlay District (WSPOD) for the Occo-quan River, which has the “most stringent regulations” for water quality, requiring a 50% reduction in the natu-rally occurring phosphorous in the rainwater runoff. By declaring the wooded, buffer areas on the perimeter of the park to be a “conservation easement” (i.e.: the buffer will never be built on, disturbed or maintained), they can reduce the phosphorous reduction from 50% to 25%.

The 25% reduction will be accomplished by con-structing a “rain garden” in the low ground near the park entrance off West Ox Road. The rain garden will be un-obtrusive and visitors will not realize it’s there. In build-ing it, they dig down two or three feet and fill with sand or gravel to act as a filter, then add a layer of topsoil, peat or humus. Native trees, plants and brush that thrive in wet conditions are then planted to soak up and hold the water. This device satisfies the environmental regulations. They may build one or two separate rain gardens, depending on calculations by the engineers.

The Ox Hill Interpretive Planning Team met on January 3rd to make minor corrections to the wayside markers and to review the latest kiosk panel designs produced by Bob McDonough of Innovative Projects Inc. On Marker #9, “Aftermath: Invasion of Maryland”, the III Corps retreat route from Ox Hill was changed to show troop movement via Fairfax Station and Pohick Road to Alexandria. This information was discovered in a recent

BRCWRT — Vol . XV, Issue 1 — February 2008 Page 9

A SOLDIER’S LETTER AFTER THE BATTLE OF OX HILL

(CHANTILLY) This is a portion of a letter written on Oct. 15, 1862 by George Claflin Parker, 21st Massachusetts Volun-teer Infantry to his Mother-In-Law from “Camp Banks of Exchanged Prisoners,” Alexandria, VA regard-ing his Ox Hill battle experience.

We marched from Centreville at about 3 o clock and not a man had the remotest idea of a fight when — all at once we were halted and ordered to fix bayonets and all the ambulances ordered to the rear. Then we were marched out across one field and into another, by a bat-tery that was shelling the woods, and then we began to hear the muskets rattle. Our Brigade was ordered into the woods on the right of the road we were fighting for— and such woods! Oh it’s no use trying to describe that place-and just as we entered them came up a rattling thunder shower and the men pushed aside the briars and bushes with one hand, and held up the gun with the other the rain filled almost every barrel with water and rendered them useless all that fight. We soon came upon the Rebs and as usual they were well sheltered and guns dry, and they gave it to us on two sides. We fell back and left many a good fellow there to a wet bed that night—after we got out of those woods the Regiment was again formed and had hardly got in line before Kearney rode up and ordered us up on the other side of the road for “By God they are cutting us off” and up we went again — more cautious— crept across a field and laid down behind a fence while Scouts went ahead to see if the ground was clear — they thought all was as it should be and over the fence we went and through the cornfield till we reached a bit of woods — or within ten yards— when suddenly a whole Regiment of Rebs rose up and cried out “Surrender”. Then followed a few mo-ments of the dirist confusion I ever saw—All were taken by surprise-the line wavered some who had no intention of doing so-handled their guns as if they meant mischief, and the Rebel Colonel thinking we were about to fire, gave the orders to his men to fire, and so near were they that no man took aim but just lowered his gun and pulled the trigger. They could touch Co. D. on the left with their guns and Capt. Kelton threw up with his sword two of them aimed at his breast but one with a double barreled gun put two balls through his knee and he fell.

I stood near him but farther off than he and the moment the summons to surrender was made I felt as though we were in another trap. I knew those woods ten yards off were not alone, and the moment the command “Fire”

passed the Reb. Colonel’s lips I fell flat on my face and every man around me, but one fell dead or wounded. May I never hear such a cry as went up from that field-again—In 5 minutes after the firing began, both Regi-ments had fallen back out of sight in the darkness and almost while I write these six words—I had gone to every man and given them water or turned them over where they could die easier. As soon as they all knew I was with them—so many voices called me I knew not what to do. “Oh for God’s sake, Lt. Parker some water” – oh don’t leave me” “Oh, I’m shot” – “I shall die” – Some water” “quick” “quick” and even while I took away the canteen, his eye would glaze and fix, for it was now bright moonlight and things could be seen plainly. 1st Lt. Beckwith was shot in bowels. I thought I must get him some help and so with some help from 2 or 3 who had come cautiously back I got him into a Rubber Blanket and 4 of us carried him out of the deep mud of the corn field and laid him with his head resting on a rail on the wet grass. I left 2 men with him and took two back to help me off with the Captain Kelton – who begged of me when I carried off Beckwith to come back for him. When I got back to him the whole spot was under Rebel guard and as I supposed in the beginning – a whole Rebel Bri-gade lay in those woods for after stating to them that I wished to see my Captain safely to some place where his leg could be amputated they furnished me with a stretcher and four men and we passed on through their lines and halted just in the rear and laid the Captain down on the grass. He as suffering intensely for the knee pan was blown to slivers and they stuck out like a bunch of asparagus from the tumbler. While I lay here waiting for more help, the General of the Rebl Brigade came and wanted me to go look at a General they had killed and tell him if it was a Brigadier or Major General – I went and found poor Kearney [Philip Kearny] laid out on a stretcher with coat and boots gone – but the Rebel Gen’l showing them to me, said: “They shall be put on again – our boys didn’t know who it was and thought it a nice thing to get hold of his clothes”. He seemed quite disappointed when I told him he was only a Brigadier Genl for to kill a Major Genl is to half win a battle.

OX HILL BATTLEFIELD TOUR

Ed Wenzel will be conducting a tour of the Ox Hill Battlefield Park on Saturday, February 23. at 10:00 AM.. The tour will focus on planned park improvements, wayside markers and kiosk panel information.

Meet at the park’s Monument Drive en-trance off of West Ox Road.

BRCWRT — Vol . XV, Issue 1 — February 2008 Page 10

We took Route 83 up to York from outside of Baltimore. There are lots of rolling hills and horse farms. After getting on Route 30, going towards Lancas-ter, we sidetracked Ms. Lori and took Route 462, the old Lincoln Highway, into Wrightsville. She’s not too happy when I do this but eventually she stops telling me to “make a U-turn,” and adjusts to what I am doing. She definitely has a mind of her own. She’s never gotten mad at me, which I kind of expect her to do. Wrights-ville used to be called Wright’s Ferry in the 1700s and was named for a ferry that crossed the Susquehanna River at that point. The ferry was operated by John Wright, and later his son, John Wright, Jr. The ferry consisted of two dugout canoes fastened together with carriage and wagon wheels. In 1834 a covered bridge, the world’s longest covered bridge, was built across the river connecting Wrightsville to Columbia, PA. The bridge was 5,690 feet long, 30 feet wide, and had 54 stone piers.

Now comes the Wrightsville and Columbia Civil War connection. In 1863 General Lee was intent on crossing into Pennsylvania and instructed General Ewell to take Harrisburg if he were able. On June 27, 1863, on the way to Carlisle, Ewell captured the county seat of Cumberland County without a fight. On June 28, 1863, General John Brown Gordon was in York County advanc-ing on Wrightsville and was instructed to capture the wooden bridge there. This one bridge was the only way across the Susquehanna for 25 miles both north and south of Wrightsville. The local militia and volunteers placed explosives on the center part of the bridge to blow it up but the charges failed to detonate. They had already soaked the center section with kerosene and oil. They then set the bridge on fire to prevent the Rebs from getting across into Columbia and Lancaster County. However, the winds spread the fire into the town of Wrightsville. Several buildings and homes were lost as a result of this. In the spirit of unity though, both sides formed a bucket brigade from the river to the town to stop the fires. You can see the pilings from the old bridge next to the new one. Actually, this bridge is still the “old” bridge as the new, more modern bridge now crosses just west of it on Route 30. The water is very shallow on the Susquehanna, and in times of drought, you can walk across the “river.” The armies then con-verged at that small, south central Pennsylvania college town where a historic three-day battle occurred.

See MS. REBELLE, Page 11

CIVIL WAR TRAVELS WITH

MS. REBELLE

By Janet Greentree

Christmas was over, the tree taken down, the ornaments and decorations were put away, no more broken ankles, so it was time to get on the road again. On Saturday, January 12th, Ms. Rebelle was on the road with Yankee Nan, a/k/a Nancy Anwyll, plus my new friend Ms. Lori TomTom, my new GPS gadget. Our final destination was the Lancaster Cemetery in Lancaster, PA to find the grave of the first Union Gen-eral killed at Gettysburg – General John Fulton Rey-nolds, USA. Ms. Lori was amazing. She took us turn-by-turn right to the gate of Lancaster Cemetery and announced we were at our destination. It turns out

Yankee Nan and Ms. Rebelle

that General Reynolds is buried right next to his brother, Rear Admiral William Reynolds, USN. Bu-ford’s words, or was it Sam Elliott’s words, kept ring-ing in my ears – “its the devil to pay, John.” It was a thrill to find Reynolds’ grave. The graves are very near the entrance and very easy to find.

But, of course, since we never go straight through to anywhere, there were stops at other places to find two more Civil War Generals, one buried in York, PA, and the other in Columbia, PA. Our first stop was York where General William Buel Franklin, USA, is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery on the outskirts of York. This was my second attempt to find him, and this time I succeeded with Nancy’s outstanding map-reading skills. The cemetery has nice markers now showing the locations with photographs and outlines of the graves of the famous people buried there.

BRCWRT — Vol . XV, Issue 1 — February 2008 Page 11

MS. REBELLE

[Continued from page 10] Columbia was also part of the Underground Rail-

road for transporting slaves to northern states and to Canada by way of the bridge. Columbia is also the home of the National Watch and Clock Museum and its collection of Civil War timepieces. The town was consid-ered for the capital of the country in 1789 and was en-dorsed by General George Washington. The vote was one short, and as they say, the rest is history. General Thomas Welsh, USA, is buried in Columbia at Mount Be-thel Cemetery. This now brings my count of Civil War Generals’ graves to 285 with the Rebs still maintaining a lead of 23 on the Yankees.

After touring around Bird-in-Hand, having a nice Amish lunch, topping it off with some awesome shoofly pie, cruising by Amish farms and buggies, we were off for home again. Ms. Lori started directing us home with-out me even telling her that was where we were going. I think she thought it was time to go. She had already announced our destination. She had our ETA right on target for home. What an amazing little toy my children gave me for Christmas. Now if I could only program cemeteries into her memory.

Full view of the Reynolds monument in Lancaster Cemetery, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

CIVIL WAR PRESERVATION TRUST RESCUES 1,616 ACRES OF

HALLOWED GROUND IN 2007

The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) announced earlier this month its land preservation accomplishments for 2007. Thanks to the gener-osity of its members, the organization perma-nently protected 1,616 acres of hallowed ground at 12 different Civil War battlefields in five states.

This string of successes enabled CWPT to reach an historic milestone of 25,000 acres saved during two decades of preservation work. Over-all, CWPT has protected 25,289 acres of battle-field land at 99 sites in 18 states.

The full roster of properties protected by CWPT in 2007 includes:

Perryville and Richmond in Kentucky; Cham-pion Hill and Brice’s Crossroads in Missis-sippi; Franklin, Parker’s Cross Roads and Shiloh, Tennessee; Glendale, McDowell, Pe-tersburg and White Oak Road, Virginia; and Summit Point, West Virginia.

For a copy of the news release in its entirety, visit:

http://www.civilwar.org/news/PressDetail.php?releaseID=156

For the latest news on battlefield preservation, visit CWPT's online newsroom at:

http://www.civilwar.org/news/

Source: CWPT News Release dated January 29, 2008. AND Don’t forget to contact your Virginia State Legislator to request that funding of the Vir-ginia Civil War Battlefield Fund be supported. The fund enjoys bipartisan support and is designed to help purchase threatened Civil War battlefield land by providing state funds to match money from the Federal government and nonprofit or-ganizations. Because of the fund’s 2-to-1 match-ing grant formula, $5 million in state money will generate $15 million for battlefield land acquisi-tion in the Commonwealth.

For information on how to do this, please contact the CWPT website at www.battlefieldactivist.com

LEE IN TEXAS [Continued from Page 6]

army supply depot from 1865 to 1876. During the latter year, Fort Sam Houston was established and the army abandoned the Alamo. At the beginning of the Spanish-American War, Theodore Roosevelt did recruiting for the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, the “Rough Riders,” at the Menger Hotel, where Lee had previously stayed.

BRCWRT — Vol . XV, Issue 1 — February 2008 Page 12

BULL RUN CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE

The Stone Wall P.O. Box 2147

Centreville, VA 20122

2008 Bull Run Civil War Round Table — MEMBERSHIP FORM

We are delighted that you are interested in joining our organization and look forward to seeing you at our next meeting and at our upcoming events!

Annual dues are:

Individual—$15.00. Family—$25.00. Student (age 22 and under)—$10.00.

Make checks payable to: BRCWRT (Bull Run Civil War Round Table). This form may be given to the President or Treasurer at the General Membership

meeting. Or mail it to:

Mark Knowles, Treasurer

169 Applegate Drive

Sterling, VA 20164

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